Refrigerator.



J. B. LACY. RErmGERAToR. APPLICATION FILED JULY 9. 1917.

Patentedv July 2, 1918. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ms Naam: Png-ns ca. Puma-Limo.. wAsHmcroN. n. c.

"JOI-IN `Ia/LACY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' REF-RIGERATOR.

1 Applioationlfiled July 9, 1917.

f To aU/whom z'tmay. concern Be it linowii'that- I, JOHN B. LAoY, a lsubject of the lKing of -England, residing at Chicago, countyof Cook, Stateof Illinois,

have inventeda certain new and useful ImprovementiniRefrigerators, and declare the followmo' tolbe a full clear andv exact dev"scri'ption'of thewsainefsuch asfwill enable othersaskilled in Athe artto which it pertai-iisto make and use the same, reference lbe-ingf'had 4,to the-accompanying drawings, which form a part ofv thisspecification.

y In u no hrefrigerator or v refrigerating room 1of-which I-amfaware, `although various @X- vpedients lhave been suggested or adopted, is tlierel'raiifefficienty circulationv of `air unless Vproduced!gbya--fan or bloweror` other inechanicah means.

*Thelobject ofthe present ini/'ention is to produce'a simple and novel construction and arrangement-lof part-s which -will insure a positive: Astrong circulation .ofI` air in such a 'way as not only to! keep the temperature in the storage compartment-at a lowertemperature'ithan would otherwise-be possible, but to produce this result with a smaller con- =suinption of ice for asmallerl consumption of energy 4where -lmecha-nical' refrigeration is vfeii'iployed.

It follows from ane'ective circulation plezstructural'.elementswhich may be applied to any lrefrif g'eratorfor 'refrigerating room are-employed and therefore, regarded `inY :oiieof zitsf aspects, myinvention mayY be saidto have for'its'obj ect to' producea simple nmeans'which may readilybe applied to an `existing 'refrigerator 'or refrigerating room 1Vfor thepurpo'se ofeconoinizing inice or refrigeratingenergy,insuring dryness` of the Eairin the storage compartmentand auto- Spe'ccaton of Letters Patent.

comparatively I high -iabou-t the:V condition sof -a comparatively Paten-teile? lily 2, 1918.

seriai No. 179,531.

matically maintaining the air in such coinp aiftmeiit pure.

' The various features of -iiovelty whereby my inventionis characterized will hereinafter be pointed outwith particula-rity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of .my -inventionand of its objects -aiidadvantages, reference may be had v-to the following detailed description taken in connection with the vaccompanying drawings, wherein:

vFigure l is ayertical section through a refrigerating room or refrigerator embody- -ing my invention lin a structure lwherein there area plurality of vcold air flues remote from each1 other `FigLzZ is a View si-inilartoF ig. 1, showing a modiied yarrangement in which the cooling chamber lies between two storage chambers;

Fig. S'is a View similar to Fig. l, showing' a reversal ofl the iiues,.there being a cold .air `flue atv the centerand warm air flues at the sides;

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. `1, showing a still further modification in which there is a cooling vchamber lying beside a storage chamber and Fig. 51s a viewi'similar to Fig. 4,- showing `a structurefoff the sanielcharacter as Fig. 4,

butadaptedto employ cold pipes insteadof .ice as the cooling means.

I have-discovered that if the storage coin- `part-ment and the compartmentforthe cooling means Ain -a.refi1igerating room -or refrigerator towhich I shall refer simply by thegeiieral name refrigerator, are connected together by means of-lues which `will per `mitthe cold airfto-flow freely and in'large volume directlyinto vthe bottom of the-storage compartmenty 'while confining and controlling theeiitrance of the yair fromvthe top ofthe storage compartment into the top of the other compartment in vthe form of a comparatively tiin sheet, thus causingv the ,cold-air gradually to bank up oiiv the bottom of lth e storage compartment and rise in the latter toward the top, taking up. heaty units onfthe wayup, the air is 'forced intothe compartment for the cooling means under an l appreciable :pressure and therefore travels .at velocity so as to bring thinfsheetoi'z'layer of air coming` .incontact with thc'- cooling@ medium `Whiletiaveling ata high speed. Theresults are: first, that rapid condensation or moisture takes place in the chamber containing the cooling means, which condensation is precipitated and is drained ott", avoiding entirely the formation of fog which is produced in the ordinaryurefrigerator whenlarge volumes or air, slow and vacillating in their' movements, come in contactwith the coollng medium, and the cool air entering the storage compartment is thererore comparatively dry; second, that the-air in the stor- Y age chamber circulates much-more rapidly Vor even aY lesser consumption than hasheretorore been required to maintain a higher temperature in the storage compartment, prevent condensation or moisture in the storage chamber, and insure rapid and automatic purification of the air through what is substantially a washing process so that the air in the storage compartment will be very quickly puri'ied contaminated through the entrance of foul air'through an opened door or because of contamination from tainted food or the like placed in the storage chamber.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, 1 represents a chamber having heat insulated walls. rllhe chamber is divided into a lower storage compartment, 2, and an upper com` partment, 3, for the cooling means which 4may take the form of ice or cooling coils.

The wall, d, separating the two compartments is insulated so that the air flowing along the samein the lower compartment `will not be cooled and drop vdown without being required to pass through the cooling compartment.V VAt the'center f the wall, 4,

is arising flue, 5, which is funnel shaped, being wider at the bottom than at the top so that the side walls, 8, converge toward each other from their lower ends toward their upper ends; the length of the flue at right angles to the plane of the paper being equal to the length of the two compartments of the chamber. At its upper end the Hue isf-provided with; laterallyv projecting branches, 6, each opening into one side'or the other ofthe compartment 3. rlhe lues, '6, like the main lue 5, decrease gradually in cross sectional-areaV so thatthe combined Aarea or their outlet endsY is much lessy than :the area ofthe inlet end orthe'ilue 5. The

Yupper'sides of the ue 6 are formed by thev Y Y. ceiling orroof ofthe chamber which prefer-V ably rises Ygradually from the eXtreme cen- -form or thin layers traveling alon ter to the sides of the chamber.l The ceiling or roof of an ordinary refrigerator may begiven the proper shape by simply attaching thereto a false ceiling, 7, triangular in vertical'cross section. At each sidel of the refrigerator is a downwardly extending flue, 9, which extends from the bottom of the upper chamber to a point adjacent tothe bottom of the lower chamber. VrThe combined cross sectional areas of the lues 9 is made greater than and preferably much greater than the combined areas of the` small ends of the fiues 6. In actual practice VKl have round that the best results are obtained when the cross sectional area of the small `ends or the lues 6 is kabout thirty per cent.

of the cross sectional area of the lues 9.

VVlth the arrangement just described, ice or any other cooling means being arranged within the chamber 3, lthe cold air will descend freely and in large volume through o the fines 9 into the very bottom vof the storage chamber. As the cold air enters the storage chamber it begins to take up heat units and rises, additional cold air forcing its way underneath the same, until finally the warmed air reaches the lue 5 and rises through'the same. Because of the flue 5 and its continuations, the flues 6 otter amore andl more con-r tracted outlet for the passage of the rising air, an appreciable pressure is produced 'in the ascending flue and the air finally rushes into the two halves of the chamber 3 in the the ceiling. rlhe action in the upper cham er is just the reverse from whattakes place in the lower chamber, the warm airentering the top of the upper chamber being quickly chilled by the air already present in that chamber, and dropping down until it comes 1n contact with the ice or otherk cooling means until finally the ues 9 are reached.

After the air has once' been set in motion,

ing or reversing its direction, but it must keep on circulating as long as there'is a cooling means present.V 'I have found that the air 1n the storage compartment will cire culate at `a rate of 'thirty linear feet perV there is no opportunity given it for vacillatl l (l chamber and being' carried away by means Y or troughs,r10, or other suitable means. In F1g..2 then chamber 11 isdivided into two storage compartments, l2 and 13, sepa`` side walls, 15, ofthe compartment 14 are insulated. The lowerend of the compartrated from: each vother by a` central com- Vpartment, 14, for the cooling means. -The air flue, 16, which terminates ashort distance above the floor of the refrigerator so that the descending cold air divides into two streams one of which enters the compartment 12 and the other the compartment 13. A. flue, 17, extending inwardly from one of the side Walls of the compartment 14 connects the latter compartment with the compartment 12, while a similar flue, 13, connects the compartment 14 together with the compartment 13. rlfhe ceiling, 19, in this case, is gradually inclined upwardly from the sides of the refrigerator toward the middle.

In Fig. 3 the arrangement is very similar to that shown in Fig. 1 except that the descending or cold air flue, 20, is placed at the center of the chamber 21 and the ascending or Warm air flues, 22 and 23, are placed at the sides. rfhe iiues 22 and 23 terminate in lateral extensions or continuations, 24 and 25, respectively, these corresponding in position and function to the flues 6 in iFig. 1. In Fig. 4 I have shown an arrangement in which the refrigerator, 26, is divided into a storage compartment, 27, and a coinpartment, 28, for the cooling means arranged side by side and separated by an insulated wall, 29. The ceiling, 30, of the storage compartment is inclined upwardly as the compartment 28 is approached and forms an inclined top for a warm air flue, 31, extending inwardly across the top of the compartment 28 from the wall 29. The bottom of the compartment 28 is open, as indicated at 32, at a short distance above the bottom of the refrigerator, so that the chilled air flows into the storage compartment at the bottom of the latter.

While the arrangement shown in Fig. 4 is one adapted to employ either ice or cooling coils, in Fig. 5 l have illustrated an arrangement wherein, because of limited space, the cooling compartment cannot be made very large and cooling pipes, instead of ice, must be employed. Referring to Fig. 5, 33 and 34 are the storage compartment and the cooling compartment arranged side by side and separated from each other by an insu# lated Wall, 35, which terminates a short distance above the bottom of the refrigerator 36. The upper end of the wall 35 is extended laterally, as indicated at 37, over the top of the adjacent portion of the storage compartment. A flue, 38, extends inwardly from the outer or free end of the wall 37, this flue being of the same type and having the same characteristics as the other ascending or warm air flues heretofore described. rlhe ceiling, 39, of the refrigerator is inclined upwardly from the side opposite that at which the cooling compartment 34 is located. rIhis arrangement forms an enlargement, 40, at the top of the chamber 34 and therefore provides a larger cross sectional area in which the cold air in the cooling compartment may act on the rapidly incoming sheet or layer of warm'ain Y There is another advantage that results from the use of'my improvements to which l have not heretofore referred and that is that the space required for the compartment for the ice or other cooling means is much less than that in the lold types of refrigerators, there being frequently a saving of more than a third inthe space employed for this purpose. In the case -of old refrigerators to which my improvements are applied, this means a material enlargement of the storage compartment or chamber.

1n addition to the employment of my iinprovements for purely refrigerating purposes, wherever it may be desired to have refrigeration, my invention is lalso applicable to the cooling and purifying of the air in any substantially air-tight compartment used for any purpose; and, where I use the term storage compartment, I intend to cover any substantially airtight compartment in which the air is to be cooled and purified or simply purified.

l claim:

l. A chamberfdivided into a storage compartment and a compartment for a cooling means, a cold Aair flue of large cross sectional area leading from the bottom of the second compartment to a point a short distance above the bottom of the storage compartment, and there being a warm air flue of large cross sectional area at its inlet end leading from the upper portion of the storage compartment into the upper portion of the other compartment, said warm air iiue having its extreme upper end so disposed that the air discharged therefrom is delivered directly into the cooling compartment in a substantially horizontal direction, and the said warm air flue decreasing gradually in cross sectional area until at its outlet end it is so restricted that the air is discharged in a broad thin sheet.

2. A chamber divided into a storage compartment and a compartment for a cooling means, a cold air flue of large cross sectional area leading from the bottom of the second compartment to a point a short distance above the bottoni of the storage compartment, and there being a warm air flue of a length considerably greater than its height extending in an approximately horizontal direction from the upper portion of the stor age compartment into the upper port-ion of the other compartment, said warm air iiue being of comparatively large cross sectional arca at its inlet end and decreasing in cross sectional area toward its outlet end so that the outlet end is sufficiently restricted to cause the air to be discharged in a broad thin horizontally directed sheet.

3. A chamber divided into a storage compmi partment and a compartment for containing a cooling means, a Warm air flue connecting the upper regions of said compartments together and decreasing gradually in cross sectional area from the storage compartment end toward the other end, the top Wall of the outlet end of the aforesaid flue being inclined upwardly from the inlet end of the Hue toward the youtlet end, and a cold air flue extending from a point near the bottom of the storage compartment to the bottom of the other compartment.

l; A chamber divided into a storage compartment and a compartment for containing a cooling means, a Warm air Hue connecting the' upper regions of said compartments together and decreasing gradually in cross Sectional area from the storage compartment end toward the Vother end, the top Wall of said Warm air flue rising from the inlet end of the flue to the outlet end and joining the upper Wall of the cooling compartment, the latter Wall also rising as the distance from the outlet end of the Warm air flue increases, and a cold air flue extending from a point near the bottom of the storage compartment to the Vbottom of the other compartment.

5. A chamber divided into a storage compartment and a compartment for containing a cooling means, a Warm air flue connecting the upper regions-of said compartments together and decreasing gradually in cross sectional area from the storage compartment end toward the other end, both the bottom and the top Walls of said Warm air flue rising from the inlet end of the flue toward the outlet end, and a cold air flue extending from a point near the bottom of the storage compartment to the bottom of the other compartment.

6. A chamber divided into a storage oompartment and a compartment for containing a cooling means, a Warm air flue connecting the upper regions oI" said compartments together, the ceiling or upper Wall oit said chamber rising gradually from the side of the storage compartment remote from the other compartment to the opposite side of the chamber forming the top of the cooling compartment, said inclined ceiling forming the top Wall of said Warm air flue, the bot# tom Wall or' the Warm air iiue being also inclinedV upwardly from the inlet end of the ilue to the outlet end, and a cold air liuc eX,- tending from the bottom of the storage compartment to the bottomr of the cooling corn-V partment. n

In testimony whereof, l sign this speciiication.

JOHN n. LACY.

Copies of this patent may 'ne obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

